IELTS Newsletter – Week 19 – Communication – September 12th 2019
Welcome to Mark Teacher’s Free Weekly IELTS Newsletter! This week, we’ll be talking about the IELTS Topic: Communication
Mark Teacher’s Free Weekly IELTS Newsletter Week 19: Communication
IELTS Warm-up Questions: Communication
Warm-up Questions:
Who do you talk to most often in your daily life?
On your phone, do you prefer to communicate by speaking or texting?
Would you describe yourself as a talkative (a person who talks or speaks a lot) person?
How many different types of communication can you name? (e.g. Speaking, Texting etc.)
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IELTS Speaking Part 3 – Training & Tips
Comparisons & Differences
There are lots of different types of communication.
Did you try the warm-up question: “How many different types of communication can you name?”?
What were you answers?
Here are some possible answers:
Speaking
Writing
Body language / sign language
Texting
Emails
(hand-written) letters
As you can see there are many different types of communication.
In Part 3 of the IELTS Speaking test, you might have to discuss generaltopics which involve several different types, categories, or groups of people.
To tackle these topics effectively, you will have to compare and contrast.
Watch the video to learn some useful language and phrases about how to do that:
Here are the contrasting words and phrases again:
[A] while [B]
[A] whereas [B]
[A] On the other hand [B]
[A] At the same time, however… [B]
Let’s practise quickly:
Imagine you are asked these Part 3 questions in your IELTS Speaking Test.
Which two things would you compare & contrast?
What are the differences between films and books?
[Films] vs [Books]
Do young and old people use phones in the same way?
[Young people] vs [Old people]
What’s the difference between news on TV and news in newspapers?
[News on TV] vs [News in newspapers].
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“I can never think of any ideas.”
“I can’t find the right IELTS vocabulary anywhere.”
Are you having any of these problems?
If you’re struggling with vocabulary and ideas for your IELTS Speaking answers, you can find HUNDREDS more high-band example answers (written and recorded by me) to help you tackle any IELTS Speaking Topic you might encounter.
Loving the IELTS Lesson? Get even more in the Complete Edition of my IELTS Speaking E-book, Audio Book and Workbook below!
…
IELTS Vocabulary and Levelled Reading
Now let’s apply some of these comparing and contrasting structures to this week’s topic: Communication.
Read these 2 levels of about ‘Communication’. Every level becomes more difficult but every level has the same meaning. The new words are highlighted, so if you don’t understand a word in Level 2, look back at Level 1 to find the easier synonym! This is a great way to learn new vocabulary!
Level 1: Basic Level 2: Advanced
IELTS Question #1: What’s the difference between talking with someone on the phone and face-to-face?
Level 1:I suppose when you are talking to someone face-to-face, it’s easier to communicate with the other person, because you can use body language or you could read their facial expressions to understand how they feel or if they are following you. Whereas over the phone, you can only hear their voice, which means communication might be a little bit more difficult and there could be some room for misunderstanding or miscommunication.
Level 2: I suppose when you are talking to someone face-to-face, it’s easier to communicate with the other person, because you can use gestures, or you could read their facial expressions to understand how they feel or if you are on the same page. Whereas over the phone, you’ve only got their voice to go on, which means communication could be confused and there could be some room for misunderstanding or miscommunication.
IELTS Question #2:Do you think that women chat more than men?
Level 1: Very generally speaking, most people think that women usually chat more because they are naturally more social than some men, and I agree a little bit. At the same time, however, I’ve met plenty of men who are very chatty and talkative, so I actually think that men and women both talk a lot, but perhaps about different things. I think women are more aware of their emotions than men, so they might talk about their feelings, while men prefer to discuss things, like events, sports, news or work.
Level 2: Very generally speaking, the general consensus is that tend to chat more because they are naturally more social than some men, and I somewhat agree. At the same time, however, I’ve met plenty of men who are complete chatterboxes, so I actually think that men are women both talk a lot, but perhaps about different things. Overall I think women are more in touch withtheir emotions than men, so they might talk about their feelings, while men prefer to discuss things, like events, sports, news or work.
Links and Resources
You can find even more IELTS-appropriate vocabulary, collocations and phrases about Communication through these links!
Another recent concern from parents and teachers, is that texting and ‘cyber slang’ harms students’ writing and grammar abilities, but is that true either?